Sunday, April 08, 2007

Babel: Lost in Translation

The "Lost in Translation" site (see link below) is good for a few minutes of fun on the web. (Like those of you who are reading this really need more reasons to hang out here!) You type in a quote or a phrase in English, and it translates it into another language, back into English, to another language, back into English, etc.

http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/

One of the examples they give is from one my favorite childhood poems: "I'm a little teapot, short and stout." This translated into: "They are a small POTENTIOMETER, short circuits and a beer of malzes of the tea."

Given the dates on the site I thought that this might be using old translation algorithms, and that a more current "free translation" site might do better. Here is the multi-language translation I received from one: "Several tea-trifling strong attribute of 1 cup of my vacuum bottle."

These are the most interesting of the ones I tried on the multibabel site:

" I will wear my heart upon my sleeve" translated to: "I have fixed my organization of the nucleus in the lodging of mine."

"You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" translated to: "Probably the silk of the small bag is not formed by the ear of the tap ditch."

Enjoy!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Here are my "babel" efforts:

apreci I, apreci I of the relation of transformation of Paris of
the resistance of the autumn of Paris
(I love Paris in the springtime, I love Paris in the fall)

There is a workstation for us, some divides a workstation for us.
Peace and peace and opened air expect us any proportion.
(There's a place for us, somewhere a place for us. Peace and quiet and open air wait for us somewhere.)

It that it speaks with me? It that it speaks with me? With which
various that I they speak hell?
(You talking to me? You talking to me? Who the hell else would I be talking to?)
[this one sounds like shakespeare]

informs the desires of I in the world, the perfect harmony of the
song of the end
(I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony)

-- Peggy